Chapter Four

Akira was overseeing the building of a new shed for the livestock. Two months had passed and the stranger his village harbored had recovered enough to be able to walk independently through the village. He had made it a habit to visit her a few times a week, if he could spare the time. They would drink tea together and talk about life in the village. But she kept evading questions that probed too deep into her past. He figured she had to work out some painful memories. It didn't suit the future village leader, but he couldn't help she sprang into his mind on different occasions.

"Is this fine, Shobo-sama?" one of the village men asked him, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. They had just finished marking where the foundations of the shed would be driven into the earth. Akira turned to watch.

"Yes, good, good," he said throwing a quick glance on their progress. The workers gave him an odd look but he didn't notice. Yuna was walking down the fenced path alongside of the soy plant fields together with Setsuko and he watched her.

"Yuna-san, Ikeda-sama has told me you're almost healthy enough to travel on your own again. What will you do?" the middle-aged woman wearing the auburn kimono asked.
"I don't know, there isn't a place I have to go to," Haruna replied.

"You mean you have no family waiting for you?"

"Nah!" she shook her head no. She stared down to her hands, neatly folded on top of each other and resting on the fabric of her white apron which she wore on top of her gray and violet kimono.

"A while ago you seemed very eager to leave..."

"Well..." Haruna started with a sigh while she stopped walking. She looked out over the soy fields. In the distance a farmer worked on his land. The sun was starting to hang low in the sky.
"Everyone here worked hard to take care of my health, to provide me food and shelter. I've gotten to learn the villagers and this is a nice place. Perhaps, after all that's happened, it would be a good decision to settle here for a while and work to repay all the gifts I have received."

Setsuko smiled, "I understand your feelings."

She looked past Haruna's shoulder and saw that Akira looked at them. Akira, noticing he was caught by the older woman quickly turned towards the village workers to continue supervising them again. He was glad they were far away, because he could feel his face become a little warmer than normal.

"Hmm? Is there something going on?" Haruna asked, looking over her shoulder to see what Setsuko was looking at. She saw nothing special, just the workers building their shed.

"No dear, nothing," the woman replied smiling. At that moment Ikeda came running towards them.

"Yuna-san! Yuna-san!" he shouted. Both of the women looked at him in surprise. He seemed quite spooked by something.

"Yuna-san," he panted, "your katana, it started trembling on its own, go check!"

"What?" she exclaimed. She instantly began to run towards the infirmary. Akira was watching the three hurrying back to the village.

"You told Shobo-sama its a family heirloom, right? Has it been possessed by some spirit?" Ikeda asked.

"N-not that I know of," she replied the doctor. They hurried down the main road of the village. When she got inside the doctor's house she slammed the shoji door open to enter her room. There the katana was, lying on the floor glowing red as metal held in fire. Smoke trailed from the tatami mat which was starting to burn. The katana was shaking in it's sheath. Did it want to be released?

"What's that sign?" Setsuko exclaimed alarmed, but she already understood its meaning and eyed Haruna curiously. The kanji sign for "seal" which had been previously hidden had appeared as a white light on the wood of the katana. The tatami mat was charring under the katana and smoldered red. A fire could burst up from it any moment. Haruna flung herself forward and grabbed the angrily glowing hilt.

"Yuna-san!" doctor Ikeda called out. Her face contorted with pain. She stared with gritted teeth at her trembling hand which she clenched around the hilt of the katana. A small line of smoke came up from the sword and slowly the glowing diminished, as did the shaking. Setsuko had rushed outdoor and came back with a bucket of water which she threw without hesitation right over Haruna's arm and the spot where the tatami mat was burned. Haruna got startled by the sudden splash of cold water and turned her head towards the worried faces of Setsuko and Ikeda.

"I'll call for lord Shobo," Ikeda muttered.

She felt sure she had to explain some things to them now.

The atmosphere was tensed. She had stayed inside the doctor's house waiting with Setsuko in silence until Ikeda would return with the village head. Setsuko threw her a look every now and then. Haruna had her eyes fixed straight in front of her but knew Setsuko was looking for clues on her face. Villagers didn't like things that reeked of demon's and sorcery. Would they think the sword was possessed by a demon? It would only be natural to do so. Would the other villagers after learning what happened ask her to leave? It wouldn't surprise her. And then hold a big ceremony to cleanse the village, yes. And their friendly hearts turning a little more suspicious towards strangers keeping family heirlooms. Her heart was pounding while her head was trying to come up with all kinds of possible scenario's about what was going to happen next. She hoped it wouldn't turn out this way, but didn't know what to say that would keep her name clean of suspicion. She had lied about more than one thing and didn't know if this was the right moment to tell the truth. The sound of footsteps on the porch disturbed her troubled thoughts. She looked anxiously at the shoji sliding wall. There the village leader Aratamaru Shobo walked in, followed by his son Akira and doctor Ikeda. She hadn't seen the village head on many occasions, he mostly ran the village from inside his house. Perhaps it was to give Akira the opportunity to gain experience by overseeing the village and communicating with the villagers. He had prying eyes under a bushy brow. Although his face looked stern and hard. Although he might've been atletic in his younger years, his waist was now quite round and he was the smallest of the three men in the room. The way he limped betrayed he got injured to his left knee in the past. It was clear however he paid no heed to it any longer.

"You seem to understand something of what happened here," he said, "please explain."

Haruna swallowed but her mouth felt a little dry. What was she going to say?

"This sword is a family heirloom. A powerful spell has been carved into the blade. Legend says that anyone who wields it who isn't entitled to do so will die upon drawing the sword from it's sheath. Those who have it in them to draw the katana are blessed with great power."

Setsuko noticeably drew in her breath.

"Are you able to wield it?" Aratamaru continued.

"No, I'm not. I'm able to draw out the sword, but it causes me great pain..."

"I heard the story that bandits dressed as priests gave you that injury. But why are you carrying a sword like that around on your own? How come you haven't returned to your village now that you are better? And where do you come from?"

Damn! Why all these difficult questions?

"It's because..." she started, "I'm alone because... When we offered these disguised bandits lodging for the night I was the first one to notice they were trying to raid the shrine in which we kept the sword. I could reach it before them and was chased down, cut off from the rest of my village. I got injured and fell off a cliff into the river. I lived in Yamanakako, next to a big lake."

'Only half truths. Will I ever be able to tell the truth to these nice people? Not as long as the others are looking for me...'

"The reason why I haven't returned is because I believe that's what they'd expect me to do, if I were alive. Perhaps it's better they think I'm dead. I'm just a single woman, what can I do against them if they were to ambush me on the road. I'm afraid they find me... I just haven't figured out what my next move is..."

'At least that's close to the truth...'

She could see Akira was moved by her story, he was eager to believe her. His father's face had seemed a little surprised. He was definitely more skeptical than his son.

'Yamanakako... that's near Mount Fuji if I'm not mistaken. That means she has traveled about two hundred miles to get here!' he looked at her intensely.

If she wasn't lying about those bandits it could be dangerous to let her stay in the village. His eyes trailed to the burn mark in the tatami-mat. One thing was for sure, the girl was not lying that this katana had strange powers. Did he want such a dangerous weapon in his village? But according to doctor Ikeda he was ready for another student to become physician and he thought she had potential. Doctor was a valuable profession in this era. Was it worth taking the risk? And then there were Akira's feelings to consider, he had become aware of his son's fondness for this girl. Aratamaru had never been a man who liked to make quick decisions. He liked to consider all the possibilities in order to decide which would be most beneficial to him and the village. But he was startled from his musing by the sound of his son's voice.

"Don't worry Yuna-san, you don't have to run, we can protect you!" he said it from the heart, but then remembered his father was present. "Ah, forgive me chichi-ue, I shouldn't have spoken." He bowed down before his father to show his respect. The village leader held his hand up, gesturing his son to stop.

"Akira, it's fine. For now we will offer this woman protection, until I've given this more consideration. But remember, it's unwise to make decisions in the heat of the moment."

"You are right father, I will remember," Akira said, bowing again.

"We shall take our leave now," Aratamaru said, meaning himself and Akira would both go, "I have much to think about."

Some people had noticed something happened in the doctor's house and came to Aratamaru with questions. The village leader had the obligation to inform the villagers of what happened in the doctor's house and did so immediately. Some hard words fell from those afraid by the unknown threat. Some people talked about sending her away. A few villagers had come together at the town square in front of the chief's house to discuss the matter around a fire, and soon the laden atmosphere had turned more enjoyable by the introduction of beer and sake to the meeting. Haruna heard their laughter and saw them having a good time but decided she wouldn't join them now. She sat on the porch with one knee pulled up and her back against the house's wall. Her katana rested between her legs against her chest. There were few clouds and the moon shone bright, illuminating the village. The stars were far away, but staring at them for so long made it seem as if she could touch them if she would just stretch out her hand. But to touch the sky one needs power. The hilt and sheath of her katana had turned icy cold in the night's cool.

'Did I make the right decision to leave home? Should I have just obeyed orders? I want to make my own future... Just like mom once did.'

She remembered the angry villagers that chased her down. After living for so many weeks in this peaceful village that seemed like from a bad dream. She wished it was just a nightmare, but it actually happened. She had made a terrible mistake in a village she had came across. She was already a runaway when she had entered that town and heard they had an excellent blacksmith. Back then she had already carried this same katana, but wanted some adjustments to it. She had given the blacksmith instructions, without knowing it could be dangerous. It was ironic in a way that he would die upon drawing out the katana when it was finished. In that moment it was clear he had done a fine job, living up to his reputation as an expert blacksmith. The spell that had been put on the katana killed those unworthy to wield, those with darkness in their hearts and those without spirituality. And apparently he fitted in that category. Thus the town lost a good blacksmith but a bad person. She didn't want to remember what it looked like when he drew the katana... all the blood... Haruna was alone with him in his working station when it happened and no one truly believed her story. She was blamed for his death and accused of murder. And the katana... truth was, she took a risk and didn't fully understand the sword's new properties or potential.

A shadow passed in front of the moon and she could hear a faint roar. A two-headed dragon in the sky? She squinted her eyes to guess the distance. Not that far away... Something flew beside it with a long white tail.

An image flashed into her mind: a slender pale skinned and purple striped hand... Amber colored eyes framed by silver hair...

'Who was that? I think I was saved by someone like that.'

Meanwhile somewhere else in Japan...

"Look Kagome! There is a group of people carrying lampions nearing the village!" Shippo exclaimed pointing at a place in the distance. It was true, Kagome now saw them too. They were sitting together on the porch of the house she, Inuyasha and Shippo shared.

"We should get down there and see who they are," Kagome replied him.

"Inuyasha! There are people coming this way, I'm going to meet them!" she called over her shoulder to the halfdemon who was lying on the floor in their house.

"Keh! They're probably just travelers," he huffed.

'That means he's not coming.'

She ignored him and got up with Shippo to walk down the path towards the village edge. On their way they met Miroku.

"Travelers at this hour, that's uncommon," he said. Kagome nodded in return. As they made their way closer to the group they could make out their features in the dim light of the lampions. There were seven monks, six of them walking in pairs behind one who appeared to be the highest monk in rank. He wore a headband covered by a straw hat. In his right hand was a copper staff, the top was a round circle with flames that made it look like a sun. In the middle was a copper eye with a purple gem, nearly black, as iris, it shimmered in the light. It looked like an unusual artifact. They were all dressed in purple robes but carried a white band around their right shoulder.

"Good evening, we are traveling monks from mount Fuji. We came to your village because we sensed a powerful demonic aura," the one leading spoke with a deep voice.

"Doesn't that sound familiar, Miroku?" Shippo said. He laughed sheepishly at Shippo's comment.

"I don't sense anything unusual," Kagome replied the traveler, "do you Miroku?"

"Ah, you're a miko and a monk living in this village? And you're a young fox demon," the other replied.

"Yes, we are," Miroku said to him.

"Well, the demonic aura I was sensing is coming from that house over there! Wait- It's moving around the village!" The grip around his staff tightened and all the monks tensed up and grabbed their rosary beads or other tools.

Kagome looked at where his finger pointed and started laughing. That was her house.

"There seems to be a misunderstanding."

"Keh! Were you looking for me?" Inuyasha jumped out of the darkness next to Kagome and Miroku.

"A hanyou!" the head monk exclaimed.

"Puh!" Inuyasha spat with his arms folded.

"Demons and half-demons living amongst humans, we don't often come across that. It seems there is no problem here. We're sorry for having disturbed you, the hour is late," the head monk said. He bowed to them and they seemed to be ready to leave again.

"Uhh-wait! Weren't you going to ask to stay in the finest house of the village?" Miroku asked them. The monk turned his face around to look Miroku in the eye. He looked very serious.

"No, we're in a hurry."

The group of monks turned their backs on them and started going down the same path where they came from.

"You see, not all monks are like you Miroku," Inuyasha told him.

Miroku laughed nervously, "I guess I should get back to Sango and the kids."

"Did you see the band they wore around their arm? They seemed like a special group of monks," Kagome said. Shippo nodded.

"Let them mind their own business," Inuyasha replied.

At that moment they heard small footsteps from the dirt road behind them. They turned around and saw Rin running towards them wearing a white and blue kimono with a pattern of orange and red goldfish.

"Rin, you're back!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Look, Sesshomaru-sama gave me another kimono!" the girl said happily.

"I thought I sensed him around here, well let's all get some sleep now," Inuyasha said while quickly scanning the sky as if he expected to see his brother. He saw nothing, it seemed Sesshomaru left as quick as he came.

An hour later the group of monks were standing in a circle, their leader in their middle.

"Kodama-sama, any sign?"

He seemed to be meditating while holding onto his staff. The gem glowed ominously.

"There hasn't been any movement. We'll retrieve the scroll soon."

Thank you for reading! If you would like to review its highly appreciated :)
I've been updating a few days in a row so far and I'm out of (half)finished material, I got plenty of ideas but it might take a few days now to get a new chapter up. Next chapter will reveal more of Haruna's identity, will contain some action and Sesshomaru.